ALERT: 20 dead, 40 deaths being probed by recombinant swine flu

"We are very, very concerned," spokesman Thomas Abraham said.

"We have what appears to be a novel virus and it has spread from human to human," he said. "It's all hands on deck at the moment."

SHOOT: Earlier in this blog I sneered at the remark that you 'don't worry' about these sorts of virusses. This sort of thing has proved to be one of the most effective killers of our species in the history of our species. The 'don't worry' response is crazy under the circumstances. We need to be very, very vigilant and alert and monitor this outbreak very very carefully.

Given that this virus can spread from human to human the possibility now exists that this is what we have feared - a transmissable form of recombined and lethal avian flu. Keep yourself informed.

clipped from news.yahoo.com MEXICO CITY – Mexico shut down schools, museums, libraries and state-run theaters across its overcrowded capital Friday in hopes of containing a swine flu outbreak that authorities say killed at least 20 people — and perhaps dozens more. World health authorities worried openly that the strange new virus could become a global epidemic. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said tests show some of the Mexico victims died from the same new strain of swine flu that sickened eight people in Texas and California. Mexico put the confirmed toll at 20 dead, but 40 other fatalities were being probed, and at least 943 nationwide were sick from the suspected flu, the health department said.